Hair stand on End

Indicative of intense mental distress and astonishment. Dr.
Andrews, of Beresford chapel, Walworth, who attended Probert under
sentence of death, says: “When the executioner put the cords on his
wrists, his hair, though long and lanky, of a weak iron-grey, rose
gradually and stood perfectly upright, and so remained for some time,
and then fell gradually down again.”